Wearable fishing rod holder

ABSTRACT

A wearable fishing rod holder has an attachment portion for securing the holder to the user, a base member and a pair of spaced rod receivers. A first rod receiver may have a generally concave, downwardly open configuration and a second rod receiver may have a generally concave upwardly open configuration. The holder is so designed as to permit a fly fishing rod having a reel at or adjacent the butt end of the rod to be secured in the holder by rotational movement and yet be usable with other types of rods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wearable fishing rod holder which isadapted to support a fly fishing rod, as well as other types of rods.

2. Description of the Prior Art

It is frequently necessary or desirable for a fisherman to have a meansfor supporting the fishing rod in order to free both hands. Thefisherman can then use both hands for activities such as baiting a hook,securing or removing artificial lures from the line, attaching hooks tothe line, attaching additional leaders or weights to the line,unsnarling knots in the line, removing foreign objects from the hook orfor other purposes directly related to the activity also making itdesirable to have both hands available.

It has been known to hold a rod between one's arm and body or, whenfishing from land or on a boat, to put the rod down Such approaches,while frequently workable, are not ideal in that the rod may moveuncontrollably either under the influence of a fish which might behooked during the period, as a result of rocking of the boat or as aresult of the contour of the land on which it was placed. Further, onecannot put the rod down when one is standing in a stream.

Various forms of wearable rod holders designed to be used with castingreels, spinning reels or other reels which are positioned at asubstantial distance from the butt end of the rod have been known. Thesedevices have not been adapted for securement of a fly fishing rod whichhas the reel positioned at or adjacent the butt end of the rod, as thesedevices have required end-to-end relative sliding insertion of the buttend of the rod into a close ended tubular member. See generally, U.S.Pat. Nos. 1,174,319; 1,198,202; 1,451,732; 2,298,694; 2,954,909 and3,874,573.

A further problem of the known systems is that they frequently are ofrather complex construction and awkward to employ. See, generally, U.S.Pat. Nos. 1,198,202; 2,537,456; 709,544; 2,846,129 and 2,954,909.

There remains, therefore, a significant need for a wearable fishing rodholder which is adapted to be employed with fly fishing rods, as well asother types of fishing rods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-described need has been met by the wearable fishing rod holderof the present invention. Attachment means are provided for securing theholder to the fisherman. A base member has a pair of spaced rodreceivers secured thereto. In a preferred embodiment a first rodreceiver will be a generally web-like, concave downwardly open memberand a second rod receiver, which will be spaced from the first rodreceiver, will be a generally web-like concave upwardly open member. Thebase member and attachment means may cooperate to define abelt-receiving passageway which facilitates securement of the holder tothe user. With this construction, a fly fishing rod may be inserted intothe holder by positioning the rod vertically adjacent to the holder androtating it to a horizontal position wherein lateral portions of the rodare engaged by the rod receivers. The fly fishing reel will then projectdownwardly from the space between the two rod receivers.

The rod receivers preferably each extend around an arc of about 160 to270 degrees and are so positioned with respect to the base member towhich they are secured, that a rod disposed within the holder will haveits longitudinal axis at an angle of about 25 to 60 degrees with respectto a horizontal plane. The holder may advantageously be molded as aunitary article.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a wearable fishingrod holder which will effectively secure a fly fishing rod and reel, aswell as other types of rods and reels.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a rod holderwhich may readily be secured to the user and may be provided without anymoving parts.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a wearablefishing rod holder which is adapted to receive rods either throughrotational movement or longitudinal insertion.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such afishing rod holder which is economical to manufacture and will bedurable in use.

These and other objects of the invention will be more fully understoodfrom the following description of the invention, on reference to theillustrations appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a right-hand elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a left-hand elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the wearable rod holder showingschematically a fly fishing rod in position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more specifically to FIGS. 1 through 6, there is shown thewearable rod holder in a form which is adapted to be placed on afisherman's belt so as to assume a generally horizontal orientation asis shown in FIG. 5. A base member 2 cooperates with an attachment member4 which includes a series of connecting posts 6, 8, 10, 12 to define anelongated belt-receiving passageway 14. In securing the holder in theposition shown in FIG. 5, the user's belt will be introduced intopassageway 14 from either end of the elongated passageway 14 such as isillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The belt will pass completely through thepassageway 14. The generally upward bow in the attachment member 4serves to provide a restriction in the passageway in order to permitmore intimate engagement with the belt. It is preferred that the minimumgap in the passageway 14 be such as to provide a certain degree offrictional resistance to the passage of a belt of average thicknesstherethrough, thereby facilitating mechanical retention and providingresistance to undesired sliding movement once the belt is attached. Thisis not essential, however, as belt tightening will generally effectadequate securement. If desired, portions of the interior of thepassageway-defining faces of base member 2 and attachment member 4 maybe provided with a layer of high friction material so as to improve thefrictional engagement with the belt.

A pair of rod receivers 16, 18 are secured to the opposite surface ofbase member 2 from that with which the attachment member 4 cooperates indefining passageway 14. Each rod receiver 16, 18, in the preferred form,is generally web-like and curved with the arc (generated about a centralaxis running parallel to the longitudinal extent of the rod receiver)preferably being about 160 to 270 degrees. In order to facilitaterotational insertion of the rod, it is necessary that the receivers 16,18 be an incomplete annulus. It is, however, necessary to havesufficient circumferential extent that the receivers 16, 18 cooperatewith each other in providing firm retention of the rod. The combinedcircumferential arc extent of both receivers 16, 18 is preferably in therange of 340 to 400 degrees. It is noted that in the position in whichthe rod holder would most likely be used, as is shown in FIG. 5, thefirst rod receiver 16 is generally concavely downwardly open and thesecond rod receiver 18 is generally concavely upwardly open. It will beappreciated that a rod positioned vertically between the receivers 16,18 with the holder in the position shown in FIG. 5 may then be rotatedclockwise such that a portion of the rod is recieved within each rodreceiver 16, 18.

If desired, for increased retention, frictional insert means may beprovided within the concave surfaces of the rod receivers 16, 18 inorder to effect improved retention. A resiliently compressible liner,for example, may be provided, if desired.

In the form shown, first rod receiver 16 is provided with bracing member20 and second rod receiver 18 is provided with bracing member 22.

In the form illustrated, as shown in FIG. 5, the base member 2 is ofgenerally rectangular configuration with curved corners. A centralreceiver axis running through the two rod receivers 16, 18 will assume aposition generally passing through diagonally opposed corners of therectangular base member 2. It will generally be preferred to have theorientation of the central access of each of the receivers 16, 18 sopositioned that a rod received within the same will assume an angle ofabout 25 to 60 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane.

FIG. 7 illustrates the fishing rod holder of the other figures with afly rod in retained position. The rod 26 is intimately engagedperipherally by the rod receiver 16, 18 and annular rod rings 28 (only aportion of this ring has been illustrated for convenience ofillustration), 30 are in engagement with the projections 32 of the reelbase. The fly reel 34 rotates about shaft 38 and has a handle 36 tosecure the same to the rod. Fishing line 40 is stored on the reel 34. Bymploying the rotational procedure described above, the rod 26 may havethe illustrated butt end 42 firmly secured within the rod holder withthe reel 34 which is generally positioned at or closely adjacent thebutt end of the rod being disposed primarily in the space underlying thegap between the receivers 16, 18.

The wearable fishing rod holder of the present invention may be made ofany suitable materials which possess adequate strength and durabilitycharacteristics as well as being economically practical. The assemblymay be a unitary assembly composed of multiple parts or may be molded asa unit if desired. One preferred embodiment of the invention involvesthe use of a unitary molded construction made from a translucent plasticmaterial such as that illustrated. Among suitable materials arepolyamide, polycarbonate and acrylic resins. A suitable material is thatsold under the trade designation "Cycoloc". Also, metals can be used.

While primary emphasis has been placed upon use of the holder inconnection with fly fishing rods, it will be appreciated that theinvention is also adapted to be employed to secure other types offishing rods which may be introduced into the holder either by theabove-described rotational method or by relative longitudinal slidingmovement. In addition to fly rods and other types of rods, the holder issuitable for use with rods having a "pistol-type" handle. It will beappreciated, that in the preferred embodiment, in order to permit readyrotational movement, the primary if not sole restraint on the rod iscircumferential as applied by the rod receivers 16, 18.

If desired, the rod receivers 16, 18 may be made of resilient materialwhich would make the holders more adaptable to the particular roddiameter at the portio0 being restrained.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that the present invention hasprovided an economical and effective means for fishing rod retention bymeans of a wearable holder which is adapted to secure fly fishing rodsas well as other types. All of this is accomplished in a simple,economical and effective manner.

Whereas particular embodiments of the invention have been describedabove for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilledin the art that numerous variations of the details may be made withoutdeparting from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A wearable fishing rod holder comprising:attachment meansfor securing said holder to the user, a base member, a pair of spacedrod receivers secured to said base member, said rod receivers extendingaround an arc of about 160 to 270 degrees, a first said rod receiverhaving a generally concave downwardly open configuration, a second saidrod receiver having a generally concave upwardly open configuration,whereby a rod may be supported with an upper rod surface engaged by onesaid rod receiver and a lower surface being engaged by the other saidrod receiver, said rod receivers being so spaced and proportioned as topermit a fly rod to be supported in said holder with an associated flyreel depending downwardly therefrom at or adjacent the lower end of saidrod, said attachment means having a securement member disposed on theopposite side of said base member from said rod receivers, saidsecurement member being secured in spaced relationship with respect tosaid base member to define a belt-receiving passageway therebetween,said base member being substantially planar, and said securement memberbeing convex toward said base member.
 2. The fishing rod holder of claim1 includingsaid rod receivers being spaced from each other sufficientlyto permit a rod to be secured to said holder by initial positioning of arod generally vertically between said rod receivers and rotation of therod about a generally horizontal axis into supporting position.
 3. Thefishing rod holder of claim 2 includingsaid rod receivers being sooriented that when said belt-receiving passageway is generallyhorizontally oriented, said rod will be disposed with its longitudinalaxis at an angle of about 25 to 60 degrees with respect to a horizontalplane.
 4. The fishing rod holder of claim 3 includingsaid holder being aunitary article.
 5. The fishing rod holder of claim 4 includingsaidholder being a unitary molded article composed of resinous material. 6.The fishing rod holder of claim 1 includingsaid second rod receiverbeing disposed forwardly of said first rod receiver.
 7. The fishing rodholder of claim 1 includingthe sum of the arcs of said first rodreceiver and second rod receiver being about 340 to 400 degrees.
 8. Thefishing rod holder of claim 1 includingsaid rod receivers being curvedweb-like members.
 9. The fishing rod holder of claim 1 includingeachsaid rod receiver adapted to engage lateral surfaces of said rod,whereby relative rotational and relative longitudinal movement betweensaid rod and said holder is permitted.
 10. The fishing rod holder ofclaim 1 includingsaid base member being generally rectangular and thecentral axis about which said rod receivers are developed being orientedgenerally diagonally with respect to said rectangular base member.